Rise of Rurik

It’s the harvest season again. For any ethnic group in any region that lives by farming, they attach great importance to this critical period related to the survival of the ethnic group.

Because of the harvest season, the two Frankish armies facing each other in the Rhine Valley abruptly suspended the war.

Because soon after harvesting food, we will face a long winter, and fighting in winter is almost impossible. In the Swedish region, in the region of Northeastern Europe, the Kingdom of Rus is actively harvesting.

The tax-free policy continues, and farmers are full of energy. And in Polotsk, which was firmly controlled by the Principality of Ostara, the duchess was indeed happy to get a batch of extremely critical new wheat.

She temporarily changed her strategy based on the amount of tribute in the treaty. The food needed for the garrison was provided by local farmers due to large-scale marriages. The food as tribute would be transported to the fortress-shaped cities of Vitebsk and Velikiy Luki.

In the Smolensk community, people here are also doing their own autumn harvest as in previous years. It’s just that people are wary of the future. Even if they are working in the fields with scythes on their backs, they must listen to the Six Routes to prepare for evacuation.

Everything is a threat from horse bandits! The identity of the horse bandits has long been confirmed - the Varangians from the north, and the Yin'ermen who were complicit in the crime.

No one remembers why those Yinmen people left Smolensk and went to the north. It must have been due to some conflict of interests.

The conflict between the two sides has existed since ancient times. If there had been no contact with each other, the fight would not have happened. From this rosin city in the upper reaches of the Dnieper River to Novgorod in the far north, the straight-line distance between the two places reaches 300 kilometers. It is possible for travelers to walk for a month.

Of course, things are not so extreme, because the Smolensk community is not just a large settlement, or the entire community is centered around the Gniezdovo settlement not far west of the city of Smolensk. The big altar exists.

The city of Smolensk is the largest settlement in the region. There are Tropchin and Lzovka to the north. The locals and the residents of Smolensk belong to the same family, and both are part of the large Krivich tribe. elements.

The Kreviches are indeed a huge ethnic group. This group of people with a common ancestor has already differentiated into several complementary and subordinate tribes in today's era.

The Kiev community and the Smolensk community were originally one family, and they controlled the Great Altar of Kiev, where the name of the Krivich people came from.

The Smolensk people who immigrated and founded the city of Rosin built their own

"Blood Alliance Altar" Gniezdovo. They worked hard to clear up wasteland on a large scale. Because they controlled the upper reaches of the Dnieper River, the people here had business contacts with the real purple-robed Romans in the early years due to the river. Some Eastern Roman merchants even lived in the city of Smolensk. , these Roman descendants have integrated into it after several generations.

The leaders of each village actively married Roman merchants, and they were proud of each other's Roman ancestry. But now the Romans are still staying in the port city of Kherson on the Crimean Peninsula, and the local nobles of Smolensk City have quietly changed. .

At least many people were of Roman descent, and they were proud of it. The Smolensk community has always been divided. The two settlements that emerged in the north have no tendency to centrifuge, but they have traveled a long distance from each other. Each place has begun to develop independently. Only the entire community faces some major problems. Far away The leaders of the settlements gathered in Smolensk for a meeting.

Most of the community's population lives in the riverside area where Smolensk is located. The fertile land with rich water and grass supports hundreds of thousands of children of the river.

The situation has become complicated and dangerous in recent years. Most of the villages in the west have been abandoned, and people are dragging their families with them to build new homes in the east of the city.

Everything is a passive defense against the attacks of horse bandits, but such efforts will undoubtedly greatly weaken the stamina of the entire community.

What makes people even more criticized is that people can move their belongings and livestock to rebuild the village. Can the big altar also be moved?

Of course, the altar can be built in another place. As for the sanctity of the new altar, how many people will admit it?

People here in Smolensk must be careful when harvesting wheat, and the people in the two major settlements in the distance are also on high alert.

And this fear has indeed spread to the Vyadich tribe in the east. Although the locals are not the same group as the Smolensk people, they have maintained peaceful relations with each other for many years. As the saying goes, if the horse bandits continue to attack along the river , the Vyadich people will also suffer.

The year before last, there had been many robberies by horse bandits. Some small villages were brutally killed and their houses were reduced to ashes.

Although last year's attack was not more brutal, the burned village was too close to the ritual center.

People dragged their families to Smolensk through the dark Katyn Forest. Faced with difficulties, only by living together as a group can they have the most precious sense of security.

A pair of eyes stared at their leader, the so-called castaway from the Northern Pine Needle Manor and the arrogant Vadim.

Is Vadim a great hero? This man has yet to lead the Smolensk army to a victory against the northern horse bandits.

he! The big leader's death was a bit embarrassing, and after he married the leader's daughter, and then used violent means to deal with all opponents and doubters, Vadim finally became the boss of Smolensk.

He completely gained control of power in 841. Regarding this result, if this kid can lead everyone to defeat the damn horse bandits, and then lead the army to the north to occupy the Yin'ermen Lake area, then there is nothing wrong with recognizing this man as the leader.

Unfortunately, throughout 841, Vadim's actions disappointed the people.

"Fight those damn Russians? And the bandits on horseback? Of course we have to fight! The premise is that my rear must be absolutely safe, and my power must be absolute. If I lead troops in the front to fight, local nobles in the rear will rebel and destroy me. My power is not good." Such was Vadim's attitude, and his child with the chief's daughter was born in 842. To the delight of the local nobles, the child was a boy.

Even so, Vadim has completely secured his position as leader? He did kill several high-ranking opponents, which solidified his power but also dug a hole for himself.

It is really helpless for the nobles to support such a person. It is not impossible to veto his rule. It is just that Smolensk needs Vadim at this stage. As long as this person exists, everyone in the future will be eligible to enter Yin Ermen. Lake grabs new benefits.

In short, the ultimate goal of the Smolensk community was to control the north-south trade routes, which made defeating and annexing Novgorod extremely important.

The nobles all know what is important, but what was Vadim doing in the past warm season?

Being a father for the first time, could it be that for this reason alone, he forgot about revenge, and led the Smolensk people to the north to make a fortune and defeat the horse bandits?

He appeared to be a bit lazy, and as the days drew closer to the harvest, his doubts became more intense. Now that the autumn harvest has ended without any surprises, the situation will not relax just because the grain has been collected into the warehouse. It is also the time when the horse bandits are active.

Late at night, the villagers could not sleep. There was too much discussion about the terrible news, and there were still lingering auditory hallucinations after nightfall.

The wind noise outside became terrifying, and the doors of every house were closed, as if there were bandits cruising in the dark outdoors.

Long-term mental stress can drive people crazy. Emotional people go to prominent figures in the city to complain.

Why are the local nobles so nervous? Because of the natural annexation of land, the wealth of this land aristocracy is almost tied to the crop fields. They have their own granaries, and they are extremely comfortable with the horse bandits launching some precise robberies.

Ordinary people and nobles have the same resentment, and this resentment is growing day by day. The autumn harvest ended peacefully in a tense and even chilling atmosphere. It was a great blessing that the horse bandits did not cause trouble at this juncture.

But don't be too happy too early, because maybe the sacks moved to the warehouse are the targets of the horse bandits.

As for food, the Smolensk community has no shortage of food, and there is still some surplus every year. Gradually increasing food has caused the population of the community to continue to expand. Due to limited productivity, when the population in an area is too dense, a meeting needs to be held to arrange for some villages to take the initiative to establish new settlements in the areas agreed upon by everyone.

At the end of the autumn harvest, the chiefs of villages from all over the country arrived on horseback at Gniezdovo, the sacrificial center.

It also included distant alliance settlements, and local leaders from Tropchin, Lezovka, and Yala came on fast horses.

The wizard killed cattle, sheep, and burned wheat in his own blood altar to sacrifice his tribe's harvest god. This year's sacrificial activities are obviously more dynamic, and those with sharp eyes and quick minds can realize the subtle changes in the situation this autumn.

Because the leaders from all over the country gathered at the big altar, it was extremely rare to participate in the grand event with the big leader Vadim. After all, even if Vadim has lived in Smolensk for twelve years, according to tradition, it is equivalent to living for a generation. In the eyes of some people, this defeated and exiled man

"Prince", it is acceptable to take a son-in-law and become the leader of the community. But it is really difficult to get the leaders of distant settlements to recognize him.

This year's situation is indeed strange. Even the leader of the Vyadzic people actually accepted the invitation and rode from a region further east.

People from all over the country are busy taking advantage of the last moment of late summer to dry the new wheat, and then stuff the wheat into burlap bags and transport it back to the village granaries.

They had to be quick because the autumn rain season could come at any time. And everything has been fate for thousands of years. When the time reaches mid-September, when the sky is densely covered with haze, the first autumn rain quietly falls, followed by the rain with no end in sight.

The entire Eastern Europe region suffered from this autumn rain, and the dry land turned muddy again, making it completely difficult to walk in most areas.

Land transportation is almost cut off, and the only options are hiking along the meadows beside the river, or boating directly.

The leaders of various places accepted Vadim's invitation, and these people already knew the purpose of the gathering. The noble people had arrived, and their eyes were fixed on Vadim.

It's constantly rainy outside, and the dense Katyn forest is actively absorbing the cold rain. The rainfall was also accompanied by strong winds, and pine branches were broken and fell from time to time.

The cold and humid air made everyone feel uncomfortable. Even in the wooden house where they gathered, which looked like a parliament chamber, the generals here were still not very good.

The leaders all wore fox fur hats and mink coats. A venerable person like Vadim, wearing a brown bear fur coat, sitting cross-legged and silent for the time being, was very intimidating.

"Everyone who should come has come, even guests from far away, our close friends of Smolensk people." When Vadim said this, he had already classified himself as a Smolensk person in his heart.

His last words were directed at the leader of the Vyadzic tribe, Hedoda of Cordno City. Hedoda is not modest. In terms of age, this man can be regarded as Vadim's uncle.

"Young man!" he said,

"Your tribe knows very well what you want to do, and even an outsider like me knows it too. In fact, you should have taken action long ago, and you shouldn't have delayed it until now!" Vadim smiled slightly, with a hint of embarrassment in his smile.

"What? What I said is wrong?"

"You are right." Vadim cheered up and cleared his throat: "Those horse bandits must be eliminated, but their essence is Varyag people. Specifically, they are the Rus among Varyag people. , based on my understanding of them, now that the Russians are becoming bigger and stronger in the north, the guys in my hometown are completely following their lead. Among the horse bandits who attacked me in Smolensk, there must be Yin Ermen nobles who betrayed me. Therefore, I have no psychological burden to eliminate these people! You can all rest assured on this point." Indeed, everyone is afraid that when the army launches a battle, because it will definitely fight the Yin Ermen Slavs in the north, the Vars who were born there will Tim will feel compassion.

Can he gain everyone's trust just by saying this? Apart from the leaders of several nearby settlements, the most powerful people sitting here are the powerful people in Smolensk. The influence of these people determines whether Vadim can continue to serve as the leader of the community.

In the final analysis, Vadim's foundation here is still unstable. After inheriting his father-in-law's property, he only transformed into a big landowner in the city of Smolensk. However, his strength is still far from completing the hegemony of Yiyantang.

"Now," he said,

"The one thousand capable warriors I have trained have become a success. They have been dormant for two years! I will prove to all of you that although I come from outside the territory, my soul and body are now standing with you. I will take the initiative to lead the troops. Fight, and you... should also take out some servants and serfs to form warriors and hand them over to me according to tradition." After listening, everyone looked at each other, and Vadim just repeated the previous battle plan. If anyone refused or questioned, all questions It should have been resolved months ago.

So, the leader of Tropchin said in a high-key voice: "The local problem is not a problem when you lead the troops to fight. Like me, I can hand over the guards I brought to you as my support for your troops. But you have to know that I Our territory is a bit far away from Smolensk, and besides, the horse bandits you mentioned... have a big event, maybe you don’t know about it.”

"What's going on?" Vadim was alert.

"Just to the west of my territory, just over the Lovadi River, a fortress that must be the Rus' rose up. No one is a fool. We have been bullied by horse bandits for several years, but my territory was lucky enough not to suffer any Attack, but those Russians literally built the fortress in front of me. The next step is to attack me!" Before he finished speaking, the leader's words caused an uproar among the people present.

"Is there such a thing?!" Vadim frowned: "You didn't tell me about this before."

"It's not my negligence. It was also a hunter from my department who accidentally ran near the Lovaj River and saw something strange there." Immediately, someone asked: "Old friend, aren't your people just being blind?!"

"Absolutely impossible. Who can be blinded by the white background with blue stripes and the flag of the horse bandit Rus?" It seemed that leader Tropchin was hinting at something. Vadim thought for a while and reached out to stop everyone's discussion: "So. Do you want our army to attack and clear out the Russian fortress you encountered?"

"If you want, of course." The leader responded with a smile.

"Yes, yes, but the time is not ripe now." After saying that, Vadim looked at everyone again: "Actually, we all know that the best way to retaliate against the horse bandits is to cut off their trade routes. Year after year Years ago, the horsemen there would carry a large amount of goods to the north. The Rus and Kiev in the south had clearly made an alliance, and we, caught in the middle, were attacked by them in turns. It’s time to end all this!" Vadim said. Angry: "They have cavalry! But our number of horsemen is too small. But this group of arrogant guys happened to build a city on the West Dvina River. It must be their trading station, and there are also There must be a large amount of goods that have not yet been transferred. Especially since Smolensk is not far from there. I decided to lead the soldiers to destroy the city, steal all the supplies to make up for our losses over the years, and then burn it to the ground. Let the Russians also taste our wrath." With a clear goal in mind, Vadim set his sights on the city of Vitebsk, which had emerged since the summer of 841.

He couldn't help but take Vitebsk seriously. In the past few years, bandits on horseback have attacked from the direction of the West Dvina River and continuously attacked Smolensk villages, causing panic and outrage.

Besides, they were no strangers to the rivers and trade routes of the West, which the Smolenskians had been happy to block in years past.

The "Road to Khiva" trade line asks for tolls from even the passing Varyags. In the past five or six years, what was originally a new activity area for the Smolensk community to expand to the west has changed!

They had already practiced with the Derigovich and Polotsk people in the west. If there were no strong outsiders to disrupt the situation, the swollen Smolensk community of Krivich could gradually control the west and conquer the people there. Wrapping them into their own alliance doesn't seem to be a problem.

Just like now, although the Vyadzic tribe is an outsider, it has become a de facto alliance with Smolensk.

But the Rus came, and they colluded with the Kiev community of Krivich in the south, and even merged with the steppe people of another world.

So much so that the Lamic tribe in the southwest also spread stories of attacks by horse bandits. These horrific news reached the ears of the Smolensk people, making it seem that there are enemies everywhere that are detrimental to them in recent years.

Many people are wondering: "What did we do wrong? Why are there attackers everywhere?" It is precisely because he suffered the pain of genocide that Vadim is now the leader of Smolensk. He really knows the fate of the Russians. Whatever is on your mind.

Was the Smolensk community at fault? If there is, it's blocking their way. Is this also wrong?

Then fight back with military means! It is now the third year since a military counteroffensive was launched. A relatively strong infantry regiment has been established. It is also supported by the suffering local nobles and civilians, and an army of about 3,000 people has been organized to launch an attack. This highly targeted expedition will definitely dampen the arrogance of Ross and his despicable minions!

Even now, Vadim does not know that his chosen target is called Vitebsk. It does not matter.

He called it contemptuously

The "City of Bandits" is determined to wait until the autumn rainy season is over and launch an attack when the earth becomes hard again in early winter!